SAN FRANCISCO — Within the hours after a tech exec was stabbed to demise on a San Francisco road with no clear suspect, billionaire Elon Musk led an indictment on Twitter, the place different tech execs and rich traders mentioned they had been shut up stuffed with violent repeat offenders ‘ getting away with crime in America’s largest tech hub.
On Thursday it grew to become clear that her interpretation of the homicide was mistaken.
Metropolis officers mentioned at a news convention that tech government Bob Lee was murdered not by chance, however by a person he knew, and the San Francisco Legal professional Common reviled Musk by title for leaping to conclusions.
District Legal professional Brooke Jenkins mentioned Musk was reckless when he beneficial inside hours of the killing that “repeat offenders” had been concerned.
“Thoughtless and irresponsible statements like these in Mr. Musk’s tweet — which assumed false circumstances about Mr. Lee’s demise — served to mislead the world’s notion of San Francisco,” Jenkins mentioned.
The statements, she continued, “additionally negatively affect the pursuit of justice for crime victims, as they unfold misinformation whereas police try to unravel a really troublesome case.”
Musk, the richest individual within the nation in line with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, didn’t instantly reply to a request on Twitter, the place he’s CEO and majority proprietor.
Musk responded to Lee’s assassination with a tweetl 5 Response to a different consumer who mentioned Lee was a buddy.
“Violent crimes in SF are appalling and even when attackers are caught, they’re typically launched instantly,” Musk wrote.
He added that the town ought to take stronger measures to lock up repeat violent offenders and tagged Jenkins’ Twitter account.
Lee’s demise and Musk’s tweet fueled what has grow to be a very contentious subject in San Francisco. Debates about crime, medication and homelessness and the town’s response to them have grow to be flashpoints, and a few within the tech and startup communities have rallied to push for change. This neighborhood helped recall former prosecutor Chesa Boudin, who was attacked for in search of alternate options to incarceration.
San Francisco has recorded 13 homicides this yr, which is in step with final yr’s tally for a similar interval, in line with police information. Robberies and muggings additionally remained comparatively fixed over the previous yr.
San Francisco Police Chief William Scott mentioned in an interview with NBC Information on Thursday that “each homicide issues,” however that Lee was a exceptional individual, boosting media protection of the case.
“A number of the issues that had been mentioned about this case, I feel, had been a bit of bit unfair,” Scott mentioned. “It’s a case. And I feel that may have occurred wherever.”
Musk wasn’t the one one speeding to supply an opinion on Lee’s homicide and its broader implications for San Francisco. Matt Ocko, a enterprise capitalist, referred to as San Francisco “lawless” and mentioned the “felony councilman” had “actually blood on his palms”.
Michelle Tandler, a startup founder who typically tweets about crime, mentioned the homicide occurred Half a “disturbing crime wave”. justified Invoking the Nationwide Guard. Michael Arrington, founding father of news web site TechCrunch, tweeted that he hated “what grew to become of San Francisco”.
And investor Jason Calacanis, who turns down a name to await the info referred to as Town was dominated by “evil, incompetent fools and crooks who obtain nothing however facilitate rampant violence”.
Calacanis tweeted Thursday that he stands by his earlier view “no matter any of the 1000’s of violent crimes that occur every month.” Arrington, Ocko and Tandler didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Conflicting interpretations of the homicide had been additionally performed out within the news media, with the San Francisco Chronicle warning that violent crime within the metropolis was comparatively low, whereas the New York Instances headlined the “lawless” quote.
Mayor London Breed famous at Thursday’s press convention that the case had obtained a substantial amount of consideration.
“There was a number of hypothesis and lots mentioned about our metropolis and crime within the metropolis,” Breed mentioned, praising the affected person work of the prosecutor’s workplace and police.
Jenkins mentioned folks ought to have waited for extra info earlier than leaping in with broad explanations.
“All of us ought to and should do higher to not contribute to the unfold of such misinformation with none precise info underlying the statements we make. The victims deserve this, and the folks of San Francisco deserve this,” Jenkins mentioned.
